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Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Cancel your weekend plans to binge new Netflix thriller hailed 'pure greatness'
Netflix's new Scotland-set crime thriller is already proving a hit with subscribers, having climbed up to the third spot in the streamer's TV ranking just a day after its release. Starring Matthew Goode as the rumpled detective Carl Morck, Dept Q is stuffed with twists, red herrings and complex characters you will want to root for, making it the perfect weekend binge-watch. The new nine-part show finds Morck reeling from a botched murder investigation that left his partner paralysed and another police officer dead. The first episode sees his boss decide the answer is to squirrel him away in a basement department, rooting through cold case files. He teams up with Syrian refugee and former police officer Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), who picks their first case: the disappearance of an ambitious young prosecutor Merritt Linguard (Chloe Pirrie) on a ferry trip four years ago. Writer and director Scott Frank hoped to replicate the success he found on Netflix with The Queen's Gambit and has been sitting on the rights to Jussi Adler-Olsen's source Scandi-noir novels for over a decade. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Frank said he was inspired by his love of crime dramas like Line of Duty to use the long-untouched rights after owning them for 15 years. He admitted to Metro: 'The books, you just knew that they could work that way. It took me a while to get to them.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He added: 'I thought this particular mystery and the situation and context for it was so interesting. I hadn't seen that before. 'But also the potential for these characters. I think they're all really interesting and you could take them in so many different directions and go so far with them. 'It just felt like this was a natural series. I hadn't really made anything like this before and so it seemed like a really, really fun idea.' It's certainly gone down well with Netflix viewers, who have taken to X to urge others to give the new show a go. Senior TV Reporter Rebecca Cook shares her take on Netflix's show… Setting a dusty cold case file in front of a crack team of sleuths is definitely not reinventing the TV wheel. Making the detective in charge of said team the most disliked man in the police precinct is also nothing new. But Dept Q is further proof that when it comes to bad-tempered, trauma-laden crime shows, the limit does not exist. This one benefits from a violently unhinged baddie, who it's impossible to look away from him. The Slow Horses comparison is apt. They're dud spies, these are dud coppers. Unfortunately, Dept Q doesn't quite reach the levels of The Thick of It comedy found in Slough House, but the Department Q gang are a good hang nevertheless. @Mon3yStretch wrote: 'I gotta say, when it comes to detective shows, the British are cream of the crop. This new show on Netflix called Dept Q is pure greatness,' as @emhoy chimed in: 'Just watched first episode and it's fantastic Dept Q.' More Trending Perhaps given that Morck and his crew are down-and-outers in the precinct, one viewer compared it to Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus. @conorgeorge95 wrote: 'Now this is a series Netflix needs to stick with, I see why it's getting the Slow Horses of Netflix comparison, also the casting/acting is outstanding. Do not let this go to waste. #DeptQ' @RhianReads1 tweeted: 'Dept Q is so good I'm considering buying and reading the book before I continue.' @chrisgbradford added: 'Have just binge watched Dept Q on Netflix. Absolutely brilliant. The production, writing, and the cast all superb. Season 2 please!' View More » Dept Q is available to stream on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Netflix horror sequel soars to number 1 after viewers stay up to watch MORE: Netflix fans rave over 'perfect cast' as The Thursday Murder Club trailer drops MORE: Amazon Prime fans can now binge all 8 episodes of 'juicy' thriller
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Dept. Q' is a little too grim for the sake of being grim
By basement office, of course, Moira means a sort of locker room. Morck is soon sulking amongst sinks and urinals (if you've ever wondered how someone would pronounce 'urinal' in a Scottish accent, the answer is 'your EYE null,' and you'll hear it said plenty). He eventually assembles a team in Rose (Leah Byrne), a young detective who's been sidelined after mental health struggles, and Akram (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian immigrant who's really not supposed to be more than an office assistant, but who has some kind of mysterious law enforcement (or perhaps just enforcement) background from his life in Syria. Advertisement Despite its origins as a series of mystery novels, the show seems very much designed to appeal to fans of 'Slow Horses,' Apple TV+'s cynical government spook drama, which stars Structurally, these shows are quite similar, given that they're portraits of brilliant men extracting good work from woebegone colleagues who would otherwise be overlooked. But the parallels end there. A bone-deep cynicism is the default tone on 'Slow Horses'; 'Dept. Q' skews more melancholy and dark. Morck and team are swiftly drawn into the case of a missing woman, who has long been given up for dead. They don't know for sure if they're pursuing a missing woman or a dead one, and 'Dept. Q' spends excruciating amounts of time delving into the grimy details of her fate. On some level, they're necessary: the structure of this kind of show means viewers need to be one step ahead of Morck and Co, given that our awareness of the woman's ongoing peril ratchets up the tension of whether Morck can solve this case in time. It's very, very grim. I should say that the woman is not tortured with the fear or reality of sexual assault, but given that she's a woman and powerless, it's hard to avoid this context entirely. Advertisement Beyond that, the show struggles with its angle on Morck. He's filled with rage over what happened to Hardy and keeps lashing out inappropriately, but his hidden depths are all implied. The problem with starting the action after he's been through a traumatic event is that it nullifies whatever his history was prior to this — of course he's angry. His prior misanthropy is mostly revealed through other characters opining about what a jerk he is. Goode is stuck emoting at the tortured end of soulful, but the character is a bit of a trap: we have to find him compelling even as the show is stuck on repeat about how upset he is about the world at large. It's an interesting primer on why this sort of thing works better on 'Slow Horses.' Lamb has a lifetime of misdeeds to look back on with a jaded eye. Morck is much younger, and a singular event is driving him right now— our entire perception of him is molded through that lens. The show fares better with Rose and Akram. Byrne brings an irrepressible energy to Rose, and though the character has also been through a traumatic event, she's still allowed to crack jokes. Moreover, she's still interested in engaging with people and learning how to be a good detective. Akram might be smarter than Morck; one gets the sense that, given the opportunity, he'd have the instincts to get this thing wrapped up swiftly. Morck's consistent rudeness to him runs the risk of moving him from compelling misanthrope territory into antagonist. Advertisement There are signs here that a good procedural lurks in the bones of the show across its nine episode season (critics were given the first eight). Sives brings some vital levity and warmth to the proceedings once Hardy heals enough to start helping out with the case. It's clear he's the better mentor between the two of them, with Morck unnaturally forced into the role. If the show could just turn down the dial on its protagonist grimly shouting at people, this motley crew might actually cohere into a crack squad of crime solvers. DEPT. Q Starring: Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne, Jamie Sives. On Netflix Lisa Weidenfeld can be reached at
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Dept. Q, review: Netflix's Edinburgh-set answer to Slow Horses
New crime drama Dept. Q (Netflix), is based on a series of novels by the Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. Except it's not, not really. You don't have to watch more than about two minutes of it to realise that the TV adaptation is based, or at least heavily influenced by, Apple TV+'s Slow Horses. The Dept. Q of the title is a new cold case unit in the Edinburgh police force that is really a PR exercise to drum up some funding for the real police there. It's not a department, it's a place to secrete washed-up misanthropes like DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) in a literal grimy basement where no one has to look at them. For Dept. Q, read Slough House, the dumping ground for threadbare spies in Slow Horses. For Carl Morck, read Jackson Lamb. Both are the epitome of damaged goods. In Morck's case, the damage appears to have come from being shot in the face, in an incident that claimed the life of a young sergeant and the legs of his friend and partner. His response has been to double down on his general loathing for all mankind. Morck hates everyone, and everyone hates Morck. But not for long. The narrative path for both a Jackson Lamb and a Carl Morck involves a softening. Over nine hours and one really nasty case, and thanks to a mordant wit, we do, of course, come round to Morck as we learn why he is as he is and what happened in the past to make him so. Naturally, he's also kind of brilliant at what he does. In all of the above, therefore, Dept. Q offers little that's new, but it has two things in its favour. Firstly, I'm still not sure how many people have seen Slow Horses, because it's on Apple TV+ and no one knows how many people watch that. There's every chance that Carl Morck and his team of ne'er-do-wells fighting evil, as well as a system that has cast them aside, will seem like the best idea ever committed to telly. Secondly, and more importantly, Dept. Q is very well done. Goode, more often seen as a buttoned-up toff (in Downton Abbey and The Crown), plays wonderfully well against type as an unbuttoned scruff. His team of misfits are well cast and well-used, with Alexej Manvelov as Akram Malik particularly impressive – he's a former Syrian policeman who fled to the UK and somehow wends his way from the IT department to Morck's sidekick. And then there's the case that runs throughout the series, or rather the multiple cases. There's the mystery of the missing prosecutor, the mystery of who shot Morck and his buddy, and the mystery of why police departments have such large, unused basements going spare for office space. As you'd expect, writer Scott Frank, who made The Queen's Gambit for Netflix, marshals the whole thing like a maestro, zooming in on dabs of Morck's home life (not good), jumping over to his PTSD sessions with a psychiatrist played by Kelly Macdonald, then coming back to warm up the show's central cold case. If you'd been wondering what happened to Scandi noir, all brutal and gloomy, well, here it is – it just went away, popped into Slough House for some tips and was next seen alive and well in Scotland.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gripping Netflix thriller is the best police mystery since Mare of Easttown
Dept. Q ★★★★½ You could make a list of the building blocks in this Edinburgh-set crime thriller and they'd be readily familiar to fans of the genre. Tick off a gifted but arrogant detective, their disaffected child, a new partner who carries a heavy burden, and a case that offers few clues. But without fail this enthralling drama, which becomes an unstoppable procedural driven by resuscitation and redemption, transcends the recognisable. Every element is finely honed, making Dept. Q the best law enforcement mystery since Mare of Easttown. It's a triumph of craft, capably assembled. That begins with creator Scott Frank, who co-wrote and lead-directed this adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen's series of Danish crime novels. Frank, whose previous Netflix series include The Queen's Gambit and Godless, moves the story to Scotland, but his protagonist is unyielding. Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is a demanding police detective, dismissive of those who can't dissect a crime scene. His colleagues are in a race to tell Morck to eff off, with many achieving personal bests. Returning to work after a failed routine operation hospitalised his partner, Hardy (Jamie Sives), Morck is a fuse waiting to be lit, so his boss, Moira Jacobson (Kate Dickie), sends him to the basement as the head – and sole member – of a new cold case squad. Here's another tick: Morck has mandated sessions with psychologist Dr Rachel Irving (Kelly Macdonald). But they're both revealing and bleakly funny – Morck is never a misanthrope for the sake of it, and Frank keeps finding new foils for him. The dialogue bristles with subtext and swipes. Goode's an exceptional actor who's never had a defining role. Until now. He gives Morck's struggles with self-loathing and selflessness a roiling depth. In a show where confinement – physically and emotionally – is a recurring theme, Morck's trajectory is never simply upwards. His doubts about himself are reflected in a hard-charging prosecutor with a complex past, Merrit Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), but Morck's professional drive is equally a magnet for outsiders. The first is his assistant, Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian refugee with a complicated CV. Loading It helps immeasurably that the case they settle on is a genuine puzzle, and the story unfolds it patiently with false starts and authentic legwork. Nothing comes easily on Dept. Q, and that makes each step a small triumph. There's a hint of Slow Horses in the maladjusted and misfits finding purpose in the basement, but the idiomatic sarcasm is more of a defence mechanism in Edinburgh. It's a show about the fine line between someone staying afloat or sinking without trace. The margins always matter in this gripping tale.
The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Gripping Netflix thriller is the best police mystery since Mare of Easttown
Dept. Q ★★★★½ You could make a list of the building blocks in this Edinburgh-set crime thriller and they'd be readily familiar to fans of the genre. Tick off a gifted but arrogant detective, their disaffected child, a new partner who carries a heavy burden, and a case that offers few clues. But without fail this enthralling drama, which becomes an unstoppable procedural driven by resuscitation and redemption, transcends the recognisable. Every element is finely honed, making Dept. Q the best law enforcement mystery since Mare of Easttown. It's a triumph of craft, capably assembled. That begins with creator Scott Frank, who co-wrote and lead-directed this adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen's series of Danish crime novels. Frank, whose previous Netflix series include The Queen's Gambit and Godless, moves the story to Scotland, but his protagonist is unyielding. Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) is a demanding police detective, dismissive of those who can't dissect a crime scene. His colleagues are in a race to tell Morck to eff off, with many achieving personal bests. Returning to work after a failed routine operation hospitalised his partner, Hardy (Jamie Sives), Morck is a fuse waiting to be lit, so his boss, Moira Jacobson (Kate Dickie), sends him to the basement as the head – and sole member – of a new cold case squad. Here's another tick: Morck has mandated sessions with psychologist Dr Rachel Irving (Kelly Macdonald). But they're both revealing and bleakly funny – Morck is never a misanthrope for the sake of it, and Frank keeps finding new foils for him. The dialogue bristles with subtext and swipes. Goode's an exceptional actor who's never had a defining role. Until now. He gives Morck's struggles with self-loathing and selflessness a roiling depth. In a show where confinement – physically and emotionally – is a recurring theme, Morck's trajectory is never simply upwards. His doubts about himself are reflected in a hard-charging prosecutor with a complex past, Merrit Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), but Morck's professional drive is equally a magnet for outsiders. The first is his assistant, Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian refugee with a complicated CV. Loading It helps immeasurably that the case they settle on is a genuine puzzle, and the story unfolds it patiently with false starts and authentic legwork. Nothing comes easily on Dept. Q, and that makes each step a small triumph. There's a hint of Slow Horses in the maladjusted and misfits finding purpose in the basement, but the idiomatic sarcasm is more of a defence mechanism in Edinburgh. It's a show about the fine line between someone staying afloat or sinking without trace. The margins always matter in this gripping tale.
